Corporate Fraud Case

In 2003, police approached Mr. V. with a request that he come down to the police station to discuss corporate fraud allegations within his multi-million dollar company, UR. Police also wanted Mr. V’s consent to search UR’s offices as part of their investigation. Mr. V knew that neither he, nor his company, had done anything wrong so he saw no problem agreeing to the police request. Out of an abundance of caution, Mr. V. called corporate fraud lawyer Mr. Prutschi for advice.

Mr. Prutschi strongly urged Mr. V. not to give in to police requests. If there really were a crime to investigate, the police would acquire a search warrant to get what they wanted.

Time passed and no search warrant was ever executed. The police laid criminal charges against Mr. V, but, lacking any evidence from statements or documents, the charges were withdrawn by the crown attorney at the first court appearance.

Mr. Prutschi frequently cites this case as a classic example of smart and efficient use of a criminal defence lawyer. Rather than ignorantly giving in to police pressure tactics, Mr. V hired Mr. Prutschi up front. Mr. Prutschi’s small fee for the early legal advice and representation at the first court appearance was only a tiny fraction of the fees Mr. V and UR would have incurred to defend themselves against a drawn out fraud investigation complete with searches of the corporate office. Mr. V was vindicated in short order and never had to face the embarrassment, stress, and financial disaster that a criminal trial could have caused.